AICN’s old pal Drew McWeeny is reporting exclusively on his fancy new HitFix site that Bryan Singer, director of the first two “X-Men” movies, “Superman Returns” and “Valkyrie,” is “nearing a deal” to produce and perhaps direct a new big-screen “Battlestar Galactica” movie. I assume Drew got this directly out of the mouth of Singer’s “X-Men” producer Tom De Santo, who tirelessly pimped a Singer-De Santo revival of “Galactica” before Ron Moore took over the franchise, and seemed to begin again pimping a De Santo-led “Galactica” revival at last month’s Comic-Con. – From AICN
Then scenes from “BSG” start playing—suddenly we’re watching the awesome trailer to the latest and final, final “BSG” television movie, “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan.” It’s jam-packed with favorite characters from the original series, and it looks like it’s going to retell the entire series from the perspective of the Cylons. Good stuff—stay tuned for the trailer to appear online in coming weeks!
Here are some highlights from the Q&A following the “Caprica” screening:
—David Eick described the sci-fi genre as an allegory for our times, adding that “BSG” and “Caprica” are a rare coincidence of producers and the studio wanting the same thing at the same time. “Caprica” will premiere in 2010 at a time when the Sci Fi Channel will be trying to establish its new branding as Syfy, a more cerebral, intelligent network aiming to draw more female and mainstream television viewers and fewer space-battle, sci-fi fanboys.
—Ron Moore described his love of history and the rise and fall of civilizations, explaining that the finale of “BSG” was intended to bring the show’s theological and philosophical debates back to “where we are now.” In response to moderator Seth Green’s continued interrogation, Moore went on the record as “aggressively agnostic” and said he hopes his work helps people to articulate their grasping for meaning.
—Moore had originally planned for the character of President Laura Roslin to die right before the crew reaches Earth, he said, but in the end he trusted his instinct that fans of the show had a built-up need to see her character reach her destination.
—On the Angels, Six and Baltar: Moore admitted that in the first season, Six was merely intended to represent a manifestation of Baltar’s guilty subconscious at being instrumental in the destruction of humanity. However, as the show progressed, and with the addition of the hybrid character, Moore started to feel the hybrid was looking into a level of existence greater than our own, so it became part of the world of “BSG” that “there was something else out there.” In the “BSG” finale, Moore said, he felt it was important to not explain away everything, or to label Six and Baltar as Angels, because by “keeping it vague, it was all about the mystery.”
—Asked why Lt. Felix Gaeta’s role became so complex, Moore explained, “We had an exceptional writers staff and there was always something for him to do. As the drafts started to develop, Gaeta became more and more complex.” Moore added, “Writers are inspired by what actors provide them”—because actor Alessandro Juliani had such rich delivery of lines filled with nonsense sci-fi jargon, the writers assigned him a lot more of the secondary background action.
NBC Universal isn’t wasting any time taking its recently concluded Sci Fi Channel hit Battlestar Galatica to the next level in home video.
The company plans to release the show’s final season on DVD July 28, as well the entire series in a new compilation set — plus the series will be made available in the high-def Blu-ray format for the first time.
The final season, “4.5″ — essentially the last run of episodes from earlier this year — includes 13 hours of extras such as three extended episodes that never aired on television, behind-the-scenes featurettes and audio commentaries by producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick.
All four seasons will be available in both formats, with 20 discs for the Blu-ray version and 25 for standard DVD.
News regarding Battlestar Galactica’s voyage to Blu-ray Disc keeps pouring in with the latest offering your first opportunity to secure every episode in high definition. As previously reported, two Universal advertisements have confirmed Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series is on its way to Blu-ray Disc (and DVD, for that matter). The advertisement that appeared on Hulu even offered a July 28 release date. – from TheHDroom
We’ve finally seen the epic final episode of Battlestar Galactica, and we’re sure you have tons of burning questions about the choices made by executive producer and writer of the episode, Ron Moore. Luckily for us, Moore sat down with TVGuide.com to shed light on the finale’s structural, spiritual and emotional elements. – from TVGuide Spoilers!
Word is out that the new Superman film will be Superman Unleashed. Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros and DC are still going on the premise it’s a sequel to the last Superman film – and not a reboot.
There’s a report that Universal is going to make a Battlestar Galactica movie – but it won’t have any thing to do with the current TV series. WTF? We anticipate a cheapo knockoff piece of shit – assuming anything ever really gets done.
Scrubs is done. The show moguls decided that without Zach Braff the show couldn’t continue – as some fans and cast members had suggested. Remember ‘After MASH’. ‘Nuff said.
BSG stars Edward James Olmos and Mary McConnell dish on their characters growing relationship.
Former Gilmore Girl Lauren Graham has a new show set- Let it Go. Graham will play a self-help talk show host whose advice to woman winds up falling on her own deaf ears when her “perfect” beau gives her the boot. Hmmm…. not particularly orginal. Alex Herschlag of Will & Grace fame will write the pilot.
How did Moore like directing?
“I found that really fulfilling,” he told Sci Fi Wire. “It was really fun, and I will be doing it again.” – from Wired
Q. “A Disquiet Follows My Soul” represents your directing debut. What did you make of being behind the camera?
A. Moore: I had a tremendous amount of fun. It was great to do it on a show that has been my show for several years. I knew the cast and the crew intimately, and there was a lot of support and a lot of people wanting me to succeed, and I got a lot of extra-special attention. They would help me figure things out. And it was an environment where I could just say, “I don’t know what to do here” or “I’m confused about this terminology” or “What should we do here?” There were people that would help, and then things that I wanted to do, they would snap to and make it happen. It was an incredibly collegial and very welcoming atmosphere to step into.
“Re-imagining”, they call it. “Un-imagining” is more accurate. To take what once was and twist it into what never was intended. So that a television show based on hope, spiritual faith and family is un-imagined and regurgitated as a show of despair, sexual violence and family dysfunction. To better reflect the times of ambiguous morality in which we live, one would assume. A show in which the aliens (Cylons) are justified in their desire to destroy human civilization, one would assume. Indeed, let us not say who the good guys are and who the bad are. That is being “judgmental,” taking sides, and that kind of (simplistic) thinking went out with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and Kathryn Hepburn and John Wayne and, well, the original “Battlestar Galactica.” – from here
First, major BSG spoilers from the premiere episode. So warning before watching…. But is the follow up commercial the worst of best commercial placement ever? I’m sure the brand name with stick with people… but probably not in a good way…
Don’t bitch if you haven’t watched the final season premiere of BSG…
Cuz the last final Cylon Is….?!
Big Reveal….
Ellen Tigh.
Wait, what?!
Really? Ellen Tigh. REALLY?!
Well, better than Callie I guess. Thank god she’s still out there in space, floating around for all eternity… They really were trying to suggest that Dee was the final Cylon — but that clue went out with a bang. They promised a darker end to BSG — and that’s that they delivered. But really, Ellen Tigh? Below BSG creator Ronald D. Moore provides the reason why. And here’s the buzz roundup from the Internets:
“People have been asking me and accusing me for months and months, but I played it off pretty good,” said Vernon, who portrays the shrewish Ellen Tigh, a sort of Lady Macbeth in space whom some fans have dubbed a “cosmic cougar.” Now her character has abruptly gained new dimensions as a riddle redefined, not unlike Keyser Söze in the final jolting moments of “The Usual Suspects.” – from LAtimes
Okay, so if you read our handy Cylon Odds gallery, you’ll remember that I was almost convinced that Ronald D. Moore and his merry men wouldn’t choose a dead person to be that all-important Fifth Cylon. I mean, sure, it sheds some light on Ellen throughout the years — catting around the fleet, schtupping her husband out of the Cylon holding cells on New Caprica — but it doesn’t have any real impact on the here-and-now. The first Four were interesting choices in that they were all but an arm’s reach away from being able to cripple the fleet. And the fact that they were all ”good guys” — even if Tory sauntered over to the Dark Side when she killed Cally — made for some fascinating tweaks in their existing relationships. I was hoping that the Fifth would be someone not so good, not so interested in the preservation of anything. – from EW
Are the Final 5 some type of reincarnated beings? Or just some kind of frozen clones? And what the hell is Starbuck? She found her own corpse and burnt it on a funeral pyre! Now that’s freaky! Even Leoben ran away from her. – from here
Why Ellen?
There’s a certain logic to it. I sort of figured out early on that I liked the pairing of her and Tigh. [I liked] that there was something deeper to their marriage and deeper to their relationship, that it was literally a relationship that had transcended time and space, that it was very ancient that had gone on for a very long time. It was something that was [mentioned] in the pilot for “Galactica.”
In the miniseries, Tigh is burning her photo, right?
Yeah, and the very first scene that he’s in, he gets upset because Starbuck is pushing his buttons about her, “What about your wife?” And he kicks over the table and then she slugs him.
There was something really appealing about the idea that of the final five, the two of them were a pair, and they were THIS pair — you know, as drama-ridden as their relationship had been, the idea that there had always been something deeper and more profound at its center, I always really, really liked.
When did you make that selection?
It was somewhere in the course of the third season [that the possibility was first raised.] We killed Ellen early that season and we didn’t have an inkling of that at that point. But at the point that we killed Ellen, around the same time frame, I was starting to come up with the idea that there were five Cylons that had yet to be revealed.
At the beginning of the third season, Baltar had gone to live on the Cylon base ship for a string of episodes. And it was really that plot move that threw into relief — well, once Baltar’s over in the Cylon world, why wouldn’t he see all 12 of them? How could we get around that and parcel that out? Then I had this idea, well, what if it’s not random? What if there’s a meaning to the fact that we haven’t seen the five of them? And that’s how the Final Five became part of the mythos.
Over the course of the third season, Ellen came and went in my thinking in terms of who the final five were. It probably wasn’t until we settled on the final four that I knew it was Ellen. When we got to the final four — Tigh, Anders, Tory and Tyrol — then it felt like, “and Ellen has to be the fifth.” Because Tigh being revealed as a Cylon was such a profound shift in that character, such a big leap for the show, that it felt really natural that she was also a Cylon.
And he had killed her for collaborating with the Cylons! There were layers and depths to that I felt were really fascinating, about guilt and blame and memory and responsibility, and I just really liked the way that all tied together. – from Chicago Trib…
Here’s your lunch entertainment buzz… Get your cup of coffee and… Oh wait, there’s really only ONE STORY — BSG IS FINALLY FRAKING BACK! Yes, the first Battlestar Galactica in over a year is here — as the road to the finale unfolds. Looking for a sneak preview? Click here!
Oh yeah, and then there’s this stuff…
* Looking for his next franchise, Keanu Reeves to star in anime fan fav Bebop. (Variety)
* As previously reported, Watchmen is set for March 6th, after a big pay day with F*cking Fox. (Buzz)
* You’re invited, right? Bono, Bruce, Beyonce to play Obama’s inaugural concert. (Reuters)
* File this under ‘vanity project,’ but Casey Affleck is directing a documentary tracking the musical career of Joaquin Phoenix. Right… (THR)
* Herbie the Love Bug Hack and Kinda Lesbian Lindsay Lohan envies Scarlett Johansson’s boobs career. (People)
* Boy George is going to jail. Again. For 15 months. I guess that’s what happens when you handcuff and kidnap gay prostitutes. (BBC)
* Everyone is talking WAY too much about ‘Notorious’ – the Biggie Smalls Story (AKA Notorious B.I.G.). I loved listening to NRP this morning, trying to act hip, reporting on the movie…
* A Non-James Bond movie with Daniel Craig, ‘Defiance’, directed by Edward Zwick, is getting fairly flat reviews. (RT)
* On the Buzz Newsroom YouTube channel, catch the HD Trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. (YouTube)
* Not a surprise, as NBC is “the biggest loser” — but they decided to renew The Office and 30 Rock. Duh. (THR)
* Meanwhile, in Kansas, some dumbass kid had been watching too much ‘Christmas Story’ and decided to reenact sticking his tongue to a frozen pole:
Lastly, no one should go see Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Kevin James, your 15 minutes are official done.
AVC: On Galactica, Ron Moore has characterized Tigh largely as a perennial screw-up, with obvious character flaws. But he’s also the guy to count on when the chips are down.
MH: Exactly. He’s loyal. He’s old-fashioned loyal. He’s got an old-fashioned dignity and a loyalty that is unwavering.
When the writers throw these curves at Tigh, I think it’s interesting, because they know the heart of the man, and they’re interested to see how he will react. [When] I was asked to go down to the planet [New Caprica, which was later occupied by the Cylons], I fought against that. “There’s no way, I’m a career soldier! My job is to be [on Galactica], to protect, and that’s what I do.” But as an artist, what they gave me to do down there… I loved doing the argument for suicide bombing. I loved all that occupation stuff. I just loved it. And—I’m not going to talk about my politics, but that’s got nothing to do with Hogan at all. But I certainly was proud to be able to go, “Hey, in two wars now, I’ve sent Vipers out on one-way missions, and this is no different.”
And even the decision to make Saul Tigh a Cylon… Poor Tigh. Like, he’s not well. Every day he is dizzy, he’s sick, he’s hurting, and you know, having to kill [his wife] Ellen, all that sort of thing—it’s post-traumatic stress. It’s the soldier’s heart. It’s all that syndrome, which was fascinating to research.
January’s arrival brings the return of many top shows, as well as the end of some beloved ones, such as Sci Fi’s Battlestar Galactica. What better way to start off the finale than to talk about it, especially if you’re hearing words straight from the mouth of the series’ creator? The Star Ledger recently posted an interview they did with Ron Moore, and the Emmy Award-nominated legend discussed what’s to come. “I knew the series of “Battlestar Galactica” was going to end with a period at the end of the sentence,” Moore declared. “Because of the way we’re ending “Battlestar,” I didn’t see other stories beyond it that I felt were interesting or had any real relevance to what the show is about. But we had a very rich backstory to deal with.” – From buddytv.com
We’re counting down to “Battlestar Galactica’s” final episodes. But you know that. May as well start off with the only real bridge to the original series that Ron Moore cultivated: Richard Hatch. The original Apollo, Richard Hatch crusaded for a very different “Battlestar Galactica” than the one most critics now praise. Never actually against Ron Moore’s re-imagined version, he was a strong proponent of just continuing the old series. He was not alone, and though many may not recall the angry e-mails, protests and threats by fans to Ron Moore and any others who plotted to ‘re-imagine’ such a great, albeit short-lived, cult favorite, Hatch does. – From LA Times
SCIFI.COM announced the launch of a new 10-part series of Battlestar Galactica webisodes, “The Face of the Enemy,” starting Dec. 12 at noon ET.
Two webisodes will debut weekly, leading up to the on-air return of the series on Jan. 16, 2009.
Each of the three- to four-minute chapters will complement and enhance the action broadcast on SCI FI and give viewers more insight into characters and events from the fourth and final season.
“The Face of the Enemy” follows the action and suspense inside a stranded Raptor carrying a group of passengers, including Lt. Felix Gaeta (Alessandro Juliani) and a Number 8 Cylon (Grace Park). When passengers suddenly start dying in alarming ways, fear, panic and chaos erupt within the confines of the small ship as suspicion grows that there is a killer among them. Michael Hogan (Col. Tigh) and Brad Dryborough (Lt. Hoshi) also star.
“The Face of the Enemy” is written by Jane Espenson and Seamus Kevin Fahey and is produced by Universal Cable Productions.
Sci Fi Channel has greenlit “Caprica,” the much-anticipated prequel to hit series “Battlestar Galactica.” “Caprica” will star Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson and Polly Walker, and will be set 50 years prior to “Galactica’s” seminal attack on human civilization by those dreaded ‘droids the Cylons. Family-drama-themed series will focus on the Earthlike planet of Caprica as two rival families deal with, among other topical issues, the broader implications of their society’s emerging artificial intelligence technology sector. Having already produced a two-hour backdoor pilot, Sci Fi is aiming for an early 2010 bow for the series, with production starting around the middle of next year, probably in Vancouver, where both “Galactica” and the spinoff’s pilot were shot.
